Book Donations Build the Library

The donation of books accounts significantly for the growth in holdings of the California Genealogical Society Library over the past 100 years. The reliance on the generosity of members and others dates back to 1906 when the society, founded in 1898, lost everything in the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. In order to rebuild, CGS actively sought and received book contributions from many individuals and organizations from around the country. The CGS archives hold a formal, printed announcement dated 20 June 1908:

Donations of books, histories and other genealogical matter, are solicited for the new library of the CALIFORNIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY to assist in a measure to replace those destroyed in the great fire of April 18-20, 1906, when the library of over three hundred volumes, charts of members and archives of the Society were lost.

According to early records, in 1913, the Newberry Library in Chicago gifted several cartons of its duplicate books which were from the library of the late Lieutenant Governor Murphy of Pennsylvania.

The History of the California Genealogical Society, written in 1998 by long-time member, Dorothy Fowler, lists several of the larger donations to the library:

Henry Byron Phillips, CGS president 1912-1920, left his comprehensive research on the New England Phillipses to the CGS archival collection following his death in 1924.

Dr. Charles Francis Griffin, CGS president 1923-1931, left his genealogical library to CGS upon his death in 1950.

Margaret Griffith, who served as the Society’s first woman president, 1945-1947, donated books and a great deal of manuscript material when she died in 1965.

Mrs. Wm. J. Lindenberger, an active member of CGS and the California Historical Society for over 30 years, provided literally hundreds of books to the genealogical collection, many of them especially rare and valuable. Her name is prominent on bookplates throughout the collection and in old records of the Society.

The largest single gift to the library was the collection of George R. Dorman, added in 1984. Mr. Dorman, a CGS member for 47 years, served in various capacities on the Society’s Board. A dedicated genealogist, his research on the signers of the California Constitutional Convention was published as a long-running series in the Society’s newsletter and later in The Nugget. The Dorman Collection is housed in a separate room in the library.

Throughout his membership with CGS from 1972 until his death in 1995, Stanley Ross steadily and without fanfare provided books to strengthen specific parts of the collection. For example, he donated a total of almost 200 books to the New York and New Jersey sections alone and also contributed the microfilms of the Kentucky vital records.

The offering of materials to the library continues today. In fall, 2007, five boxes of books were gifted from member Joan Soo. Electra Kimble Price donated some of her African-American and Native-American collection. Theresa Smith sought out the society seeking a good home for her late mother's books. Theresa's not interested in genealogy herself so we are grateful that the four boxes of books on early California during the Spanish era, especially southern California, have found their way to the CGS bookshelves.

The most recent gift comes from long-time member, Dorothy A. Koenig, an expert on early Dutch settlers in "New Netherland" in the 17th century and editor of the quarterly journal, New Netherland Connections. Dorothy has donated volumes 1-14 of the set Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Procured in Holland, England, and France by John R. Brodhead and others. They were published in Albany, New York, 1853-1883.

CGS Librarian, Laura Spurrier, notes: "The reason they're important is they contain the authorized transcriptions of original documents about the founding of New Amsterdam and later English-controlled New York. And, they're indexed, making the volumes accessible for genealogists."

Book Repair Workshop Returns - April 30, 2008

The California Genealogical Society is now taking reservations for a spring Book Repair Workshop to be held on Wednesday morning, April 30, 2008.



The popular class, taught by Book Repair Committee Chairman, Bill O'Neil, will be limited to ten enrollees. The fee is $15.00 for materials. Reservations are required and can be made by contacting CGS. There is a also a sign-up sheet at the reception desk.

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, 11 Dec 2007.

German Genealogy Conference - April 25 & 26, 2008

CGS member, Mary Beth Frederick, sent this along about the German Genealogy Conference:
"As a new member of the Sacramento German Genealogy Society (SGGS), I recently attended my first meeting. What a strong and enthusiastic group! Baerbel K. Johnson, an excellent German research consultant at the FHL, was the guest speaker and answered questions during the morning's two-hour study group. Marion Wolfert and Roger Minert, the two presenters for the April 26 event, are considered two of the top German experts and need no introduction to those who have been researching their German roots for more than a few weeks. Attendees will be able to choose the seminar topics that interest them, including The Lives of Our German Ancestors, Beginning Your German Research, Locating Records in Germany, Using the Internet for German Genealogical Research, plus several others. Several persons in the study group had hired Marion to do research for them in Germany; to a person they praised her work and showed large stacks of copied records to support their words. This would be a good opportunity for anyone thinking of hiring a German researcher to meet an excellent one and assess whether she's the one for them. Shirely Riemer asked me to make sure that people know about the pre-seminar gala on April 25. It will be held at the Sacramento Turn Verein, 3349 J Street, beginning at 5 pm and is FREE for anyone who has signed up for the seminar. It will include a buffet of German foods, a lively German band, folk dancers, singing of German songs -- and a chance to show off your dirndl, lederhosen or other ethnic-German costume. And there will be free parking, a benefit that Bay Area attendees will appreciate. Note that reservations should be made by April 19 in order to attend the gala."

The Spring Seminar, 25 Years and Counting!, is a two-day seminar and gala on April 25 and 26, 2008, in Sacramento. The all-day seminar on Saturday, April 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., will be held at La Sierra Community Center, 5426 Engle Road, Carmichael. Seminar pre-registration for non-members is $40 each or $50 per couple or $40 at the door, space permitting. You may purchase lunch in advance or bring your own. On Friday, April 25, the “German Buffet Gala” is free to all who register for the seminar. The Friday event, which will be held at the Sacramento Turn Verein, at 3349 J Street, beginning at 5:00 p.m., will include a buffet of traditional German dishes, a lively German band, folk dancers performing traditional German dances, German songs, and colorful traditional German regional costumes. Those interested in attending either or both events may request a pre-registration application form by e-mailing: Lorelei@softcom.net, or by calling (916) 421-8032 before April 19.

Irish Research Seminar - July 9, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day! CGS President, Jane Lindsey has been cooking up a treat straight from Ireland that's sure to excite Irish researchers and have them dancing a jig.

Noted Irish author, researcher and lecturer, Nora M. Hickey, will present A Day of Irish Information, Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at the Berkeley Yacht Club, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Ms. Hickey will give four talks of interest to researchers of all skill levels. She has also agreed to schedule the next day at the CGS Library to do private, one-on-one consultations.

For additional details, download the flier and registration form.

Nora M. Hickey was born in Cork, Ireland, and educated at Loreto College, Manchester, England. After returning to Ireland in 1974, she studied history and philosophy at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, a constituent college of the National University of Ireland. Her B.A. thesis was genealogical; a study of the Norman family, the de Berminghams of Leinster. As a founder member of the Federation of Local History Societies, she was Honorary Editor of Local History Review for many years. An early member of the Irish Family History Society, Nora also acted for some years as the Honorary Editor of Irish Family History.

Ms. Hickey was a founder director of the Irish Genealogical Project until she resigned in 1991 to develop her own Irish genealogical research service. This includes visiting the USA several times yearly to give lectures and seminars, together with a personal genealogical research service. In the past Nora has hosted County Cork Summer Schools and organised Dublin based Research Weeks with personal guidance in the Irish archives.

Her publications include: Going to Ireland: A Genealogical Researcher's Guide, Kinsale Historical Journals, Kinsale: Glimpses of a town through the years and The Battle of Kinsale, together with many articles, both historical and genealogical, published in many journals in two continents. In 2005, Nora edited her 98 year-old father's memoirs - My Barryroe Childhood and was very much involved with his centenary celebrations in September 2007 – in two countries, with an international attendance.

A Tribute to Anne Robinson

Jasia of Creative Gene reminds us that March is National Women's History Month and encourages genea-bloggers to write a tribute to a woman. It is the perfect opportunity to honor long-time CGS volunteer, Anne A. Robinson.

The number one strength of the California Genealogical Society and Library is our active and generous membership but few have been as dedicated and steadfast as Anne. She is a San Francisco native and comes from a long line of folks interested in their family history. Anne's husband died when her children were young and she turned to friends for support and company. She developed a close bond with a group of seven who took a genealogy class together at Sequoia High School. After the class was over, she missed the contact so she started spending her Wednesdays volunteering at libraries -- at CGS, or Sutro, in Santa Clara or Sacramento. Anne volunteered for many years at the Pacific Regional National Archives in San Bruno, working on the preservation of Chinese immigration records.


Anne was the youngest of nine children (including a twin sister) with Dutch heritage from their mother and British from their father. The teaching profession called to her and she taught fourth grade for a time in Santa Barbara. During World War II, Anne joined the army to help with the war effort. She was stationed at Fort Collins, Colorado, where she trained in occupational therapy and was assigned to a military hospital working with servicemen who were on the mend. She did her basic training in Des Moines in motor transport which led to her first assignment as a driver for the base Colonel. These days Anne leaves the driving to the public transportation systems, of which she is also a veteran. Anne spends 3 1/2 to 4 hours every week commuting to CGS. She leaves home at 7:00 a.m. to insure her arrival at the library for the 9:30 start time of the book repair group and more often than not, she is the first to arrive. Anne spends her commute time doing recreational reading and puzzles. Anne is a big fan of sudoku and jumbles and she will do a crossword or two. She's noticed that genealogists like puzzles and several she knows do the jigsaw variety.

Anne began volunteering at CGS when the society was joined with the California Historical Society in San Francisco. She has been a member of CGS since 1980 and has logged thousands of volunteer hours, working on many major projects over the years.

In the 1990s, Anne was a member of the library committee which spent several years creating a shelf list of the CGS holdings. That inventory was completed in 1995. She and Anna Scott spent several more years going through all of the ancestral charts that were donated to CGS and indexing them by surname and typing up catalog cards for each chart. Anne also worked on the Great Register of 1890 indexing project with Jane Steiner's group.



One of Anne's ongoing projects is readily visible on most of the library shelves. She is responsible for the spine labels and bindings for pamphlets and other non-bound materials. Her careful, legible script helps our patrons easily find things hidden from view in most libraries.

Anne has volunteered at several archives and societies over the years but she says that she especially likes the people at CGS because they take the time to "get to know each other a little bit." We are all honored to have gotten to know her.

In my notes I found that Anne wrote her own six word memoir:
"Did what needed to be done."

Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle, 11 Dec 2007.